Two inmates at a privately operated prison have died in custody in as many months, renewing debate about jail safety and control.
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Prison operator MTC Australia confirmed a 53-year-old man died on Saturday and another man, 58, died on January 12 at Parklea Correctional Centre in Sydney's northwest.
Both were found unresponsive in their cells and later pronounced dead, an MTC Australia spokesperson said.
State Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said on Wednesday it was important not to speculate how the two men died as police and the coroner investigate, as is the procedure for all deaths in custody.
But Greens justice spokesperson Sue Higginson said she had been informed by a relative of another inmate the man who died on Saturday took his own life.
"The removal of ligature points is a basic and effective method to prevent death ... and reduce the rates of deaths in custody," Ms Higginson said.
She called correctional centres an "inhumane horror show" offering no hope or health and called on the government to reform prisons.
"They are places where human beings are sent to be punished with little hope of recovery or redemption," she said.
Opposition corrections spokesperson Mark Taylor called on the government to continue investing in prison safety, but said it was appropriate to await coronial findings before commenting further.
"Any death or injury in custody is a serious matter and the opposition calls on (Mr Chanthivong) to ensure that the previous coalition government's record of investment into making our prisons safe places for both staff and inmates continues," he said.
Responding to a parliamentary committee looking at oversight and review of deaths in custody in 2021, the former government supported in principle a recommendation to bring prisons in line with anti-ligature design standards, with $6 million allocated to removing obvious hanging points in approximately 400 cells, up from $4.3 million spent the previous financial year.
A Corrective Services NSW spokesman told AAP 157 cells requiring refurbishment at Parklea and Junee Correctional Centre have been upgraded since 2020.
Further refurbishment works are scheduled at Parklea and $3.7 million has been spent on the works so far this financial year.
"(The service) actively monitors performance frameworks in all private centres to ensure they meet appropriate standards, and to identify any areas of future improvement for inmates and staff," the spokesman said, adding the agency has acted on nearly all recommendations of past inquiries and inquests.
A recent coronial inquest into Aboriginal man Timothy Garner's suicide while on remand at the publicly operated Silverwater jail in 2018 recommended all inmates under risk assessment be housed in cells without hanging or ligature points by the end of 2024.
It also recommended that consideration of routine refresher training for risk intervention team members after the inquest was told Mr Garner had been cleared from the team's assessments five days before his death.
A decision has not yet been made on Parklea's operation when the current contract expires in 2026.
The NSW government has announced it will take over operation of Junee Correctional Centre when the contract with private operator GEO Group expires in March 2025 as part of broader anti-privatisation measures.
Mr Chanthivong said he recently met with the community and workers in Junee as part of the process.
"This is a hugely complex undertaking and it's a state first, the work we're doing now will inform any future decisions," he said.
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Australian Associated Press
